နိုင်နိုင် The military junta troops are arresting and investigating refugees fleeing Rakhine to Ayeyarwady due to the battle between the military junta and the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State.
The military junta is mainly arresting Rakhine residents with 11/ National Registration Cards in Ayeyarwady Division, and the military junta troops have increased security at checkpoints leading to Ayeyarwady Division and Rakhine.
The Rakhine residents have been fleeing to Nga Thaing Chaung, Ye Kyi, Lay Myethna, Kyon Pyaw, and Hinthada townships in Ayeyarwady Division to escape the battle, and have been doing so for months, an Rakhine resident in Ayeyarwady told BBM.
“On the Ayeyarwady side, people from Rakhine are being arrested and questioned. 11 / National Registration Cards those who are carrying have already been arrested. If they can pay, they are released. If they can’t pay, young people are sent to military training,”
the Rakhine resident continued. The military junta is also conducting guest lists in many townships in Ayeyarwady Division, searching for new recruits for military training, and accusingly arresting local civilians for their links to the AA.
The increased number of arrests by the military junta in many townships in Ayeyarwady Division has made it difficult for Rakhine residents living in these townships to travel from one place to another.
“Now, we can’t even go out of town. The military junta is arresting us. The Rakhine people on this side are more cautious. We can’t go back to Rakhine. If we go to another place, we have difficulties,”
a resident of Ye Kyi Township in Ayeyarwady Division told BBM. Last August, the military junta arrested 37 Rakhine men and women from Ngayokaung, Ngaputaw, Haingyi Kyun, Shwe Thaung Yan, Nga Thaing Chaung, and Ye Kyi townships in Ayeyarwady Division, alleging that they were affiliated with the Arakan Army (AA).
The Arakan Army (AA) and allied forces has been attacking the military junta in Ayeyarwady Division since early this year, and there are currently fierce clashes in Ngathaing Chaung Township, North San Village, Artillery Battalion 344, Lay Myethna Township, and the Pathein-Monywa Road in Ingapu Township.
Locals in Ye Kyi said that the military junta battalions based in Kyon Pyaw Township are constantly reinforcing the areas where the clashes are taking place with military vehicles.
The Arakan Army (AA) and the allied PDF have been conducting operations along the Rakhine Yoma in Ayeyarwady Division, including Ye Kyi, Thar Paung. They are also attacking as far as Ngathaing Chaung, Lay Myethna, Ingapu, and Myan Aung townships.
